Odds & Ends

Dateline: Georgia—They say it’s a dog-eat-dog world. But occasionally, the dog eats something else entirely. When $10,000 worth of diamonds went missing from John Ross Jewelers in Albany, Ga., the store’s co-owner Chuck Roberts didn’t have to look any farther than his pet Pomeranian, Honey Bun. Roberts told ABC News affiliate WALB that, in late August, he got up to help a customer and left four packets of loose diamonds sitting on his desk. Roberts’ pint-sized pooch evidently jumped onto his desk and scarfed up the diamonds like Snausages. Roberts soon spotted the empty packages on the floor. “We looked all over and there weren’t any diamonds,” Roberts told WALB. “So, immediately I knew he’d eaten them.” Honey Bun was rushed to a vet for an X-ray. Since carbon doesn’t show up in X-rays, the scan revealed two empty white spots in the dog’s stomach. Nature was allowed to follow its course, and the diamonds were returned the next day—smellier but no worse for wear.

Dateline: Pennsylvania—Arthur Phillips III and Brittany Lurch were unable to make their own wedding reception. The newlyweds were stuck in jail at the time, accused of shoplifting all the food for their party. According to Centre Daily Times, Phillips, 32, and Lurch, 22, were married on Thursday, Aug. 18. Their wedding reception was scheduled for the following Saturday at 5:30 p.m. But by 2:30 p.m., the blushing bride and embarrassed groom were in the custody of the Patton Township police, accused of stealing $1,049.26 worth of groceries from a Wegmans supermarket. Police examined surveillance camera footage and spotted the happy couple filling a shopping cart with items and walking out to their car without paying. Phillips and Lurch were arrested and told police the items were intended for their upcoming reception. The two were charged with misdemeanor counts of retail theft and receiving stolen property. Police also found a marijuana pipe in the couple’s car. They missed their reception and were held in Centre County Jail in lieu of $2,500 bail.

Dateline: California—A shoplifter tried to push her luck just a little bit too far and ended up getting busted for it. Police in Penn Valley said Elizabeth Genevieve Null, 20, was seen on videotape stealing hundreds of dollars’ worth of gardening supplies from Anything Green Hydroponics. Before she left with the loot, however, she stopped and filled out a raffle ticket for the store’s upcoming party, perhaps hoping she would win even more free stuff. Doug Jones, co-owner of the store, called police as soon as he and his wife figured out what had happened. Interviewed by ABC News Sacramento affiliate KXTV, Jones said police asked him if he knew who the shoplifter was. “I said, ‘Absolutely—I have her name, address and phone number right here!’ ” Jones pulled out the woman’s lottery entry and gave it to police. The woman was swiftly arrested and charged with shoplifting and possession of stolen property. “A little on the not-bright side, absolutely,” assessed Jones. Police went to Null’s house and recovered the $300 worth of plant additives and other items she made off with. She was also disqualified from the store’s raffle.

Dateline: Arizona—According to a report in the Arizona Republic, Mesa resident Eric Fiegel was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 23, for shoplifting after the 22-year-old was spotted on a pet store’s surveillance camera stuffing boa constrictors down his pants. Owners of Predator’s Reptile Center say Fiegel entered the store, removed several baby albino boa constrictors from their cage and exited without paying. The shoplifter allegedly returned later in the evening, stuffed several more of the exotic animals in his pants and left once again without paying. According to police, Fiegel traveled to another pet store in the area and traded the trouser snakes for $175 and a large reptile tank. A witness to the incident obtained a license plate number, which police used to locate Fiegel. The snake taker was later positively identified in a police lineup by two witnesses.